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Italian roundup Fiorentina routs Milan 4-0; Brescia surprises Perugia
Updated: Saturday January 13, 2001 4:48 PM
ROME (AP) -- Goals and magics by Portuguese stars Nuno Gomes and Manuel Rui Costa powered Fiorentina to a 4-0 trash of AC Milan, lifting the Florentine team to second place in the Serie A standings prior to Sunday's games. Gomes scored a first-half goal, on a perfect corner kick by his Portuguese teammate. Rui Costa tallied the fourth goal in the closing minutes and fed Alessandro Cois and Enrico Chiesa for two others. Saturday's home win extended the unbeaten streak of the Florentine team to six matches and plunged the Milan powerhouse into a severe crisis. With two losses and two draws in the last four games the Milan team is definitely out of contention for the league title and may also miss one of the top four spots awarding a Champions League berth. AC Milan was left with 20 points, 12 behind league leader AS Roma which is likely to pocket another victory and three points in Sunday's home match against last-place Bari. Second-place Juventus takes on Bologna in Sunday's action also including Internazionale vs. Parma and Udinese vs. Lazio. Fiorentina's rise to the elite places of the Serie A table, at 24 points (6-6-2), meant a personal success for Turkish coach Faith Terim who had been bitterly criticized for the slow start of the team. Terim, on his first season in Italy, is now a hero for the hot-tempered Florentine fans who displayed huge posters of support for the coach at the Franchi stadium. Gomes scored the opening goal -- his sixth this season -- in the 15th minute, heading in from a few meters Rui Costa's corner kick. In the 30th minute Milan's German striker Oliver Bierhoff missed a golden opportunity for the equalizer kicking the ball wide from one meter. As Milan defense left wide room for fast counter-attacks, midfielder Cois made it two in the 47th with a powerful drive. Chiesa, Fiorentina top striker, tallied the third goal in the 71st. After feeding the teammates, Rui Costa completed his impressive performance with a precise shot and a goal from the penalty area edge. Between goals, AC Milan keeper Christian Abbiati made a number of saves on unmarked Fiorentina forwards. The bad time of the Milan team, owned by former premier and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, may lead to the dismissal of coach Alberto Zaccheroni. According to published reports Terim may be the possible substitute. In the only other match of the day, lowly-ranked Brescia upset Perugia 1-0 on a first-half goal by Argentine midfielder Andres Yllana. Perugia, coming from three consecutive wins and with a reputation of giants-killer in the Italian Serie A, lost to an underdog opponent playing the entire second half two players down. However it allowed the deciding goal when playing 11 against 11. At the Rigamonti stadium in Brescia, Yllana tallied his first season goal in the 20th minute with a diagonal shot from 6 meters (yards). In the second half Brescia's strikers Dario Hubner and Kubilay Turkylmaz wasted some clear scoring chances. The second season victory gave Brescia 12 points in the table, after 14 matches. Perugia's record worsened to 5-4-5, leaving the team with 19 points. Perugia's Davide Baiocco was ejected in the 37th minute for arguing with the referee. Two minutes later teammate Fabio Liverani followed him into the dressing rooms after receiving his second caution for rough play.
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